Little Lionhearts
by offtoneverlandd
Summary: It's been three years since Hiccup and Merida's first meeting, and things have changed since. Big things. So how does one small visit to the island of Berk turn into a trip to hell? Well, only Merida and Hiccup can explain that. / This is a sequel to my last fic "Fight or Fly". Told through two different POV's.
1. Merida and the reunion

**Hey there familiar faces (And new ones)! Here's a sequel to my las fic- Which I am eternally grateful for all your lovely comments and praises and ahh! I really didn't expect that much love. It's honestly a terribly written story. But, since I promised a part 2, here it is! Another terribly written fic about my endless love for Hiccup and Merida. **

**This takes place three years after Merida and Hiccup first med. So Merida would be sixteen and Hiccup would be seventeen.**

**Comments are always appreciated! Thank you and enjoy! **

* * *

Summers in Don'Broch are nice, but they're nothing like the fall. The heat gets unbearable in July. Especially when I'm wearing two layers of unnecessary undergarments and one top layer of itchy cloth. My mother and I have really mended things between one another since "the incident" as we're now calling it. She's even okay with me having weapons and going on small excursions. But will she let me wear pants?

_No._

I bite into my apple and watch the waves crash onto the rocks below my feet. The wind whistles loudly through the mountains and I smile.

This is my favorite spot.

High above everything. Where I can see the castle and the sea. Where I can watch the sunrise and sunsets. Where my mother and I come to share secrets and just talk. Where my father and I come sit and admire the beauty of the land in which we live. Where my brothers aren't allowed because they are still to young to leave the village.

Where I can watch strange viking ships make their way through our border.

_Strange viking ship?_

I quickly gather to my feet and squint my eyes. Sure enough it's a viking ship, moving quickly through the sea towards the castle.

"C'mon Angus." I say with a mouth full of apple.

Angus is my Scottish Clydesdale horse. He's beautiful, smart, and faithful.

_Not to mention attitude._

Angus hesitates before leaving the rest of the fruit he was eating behind to trot to my side. I hoist myself up on his saddle and slap the reigns.

By the time Angus and I were crossing the bridge into the village, the ship was already setting anchor.

_How did it get here so quickly?_

I pull back on Angus's reigns and try to find a familiar face. I see my father (He's hard to miss) standing next to my mother, waving to what looks like the people on the ship. My eyes wander to the helm, where a tall man like my father stands. He looks almost identical to him. The same big noses. The same long hair. His is much darker though, like a maroon color.

_I've seen him before.._

My heart skips a beat and suddenly I'm so excited and I don't even know what for. I hurry Angus into his stable and run down to the docks, not bothering to place my bow and quiver down.

The dock creaks loudly as my heavy feet pound across it. I'm still running, still pumped with adrenaline. Both my parents look over their shoulders and smile at me. My father gives me a wink before turning back and shouting something. A name.

"Stoick!"

This time my heart skips two beats.

_I know him._

* * *

My hands are on my knees as I try to regain my breathing. My mom nudges me and I know that I'm doing something I'm not supposed to.

_I forgot heaving is really un-lady like._

I straighten myself out, clench my fists and tilt my chin slightly upward. My mother raises and eyebrow at me, a small smirk forming at the corner of her lip. I still don't know exactly why I'm trying to look so confident, but suddenly I have an urge to fix my hair, which i _never _want to do.

Stoick steps off the boat and he and my father pat each other roughly like they did 3 years ago.

_I remember now._

My mother steps forward and says his name with excitement. Stoick takes her hand and kisses it lightly before giving her a hug.

It's my turn.

My father introduces me and my mother places her hand on my shoulder.

_I hope my smile's not too big._

"My Gods!" Stoick says, his eyes growing wide. "You keep growing! Look at you! You're a women!"

"Ah, hardly." I shrug.

"I hope you remember me." Stoick says as he places his knuckles on his hips.

"I do!" I say so enthusiastically my parents look at each other funny.

_My cheeks are getting really warm._

"Well then you must remember Hiccup," Stoick turns away towards the ship. "You two got into a lot of trouble."

I take two steps forward and scan the ship for him. But the deck is almost empty. I think I hear Stoick call for him, but I can't hear clearly through my heartbeat pounding in my skull.

_Why am I acting this way?_

"Coming… Dad!" I hear someone say.

Stoick sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Well, you know my son.." He apologizes.

My parents smile and I shyly take place next to my father. I hadn't realized I took more then two steps and was practically on the ship.

A head emerges from below deck and a boy with long shaggy chocolate colored hair steps emerges.

Big grey green eyes and freckles scattered across his nose..

He wipes his hands with a piece of cloth that he tucks in his back pocket. He hasn't looked up from his feet yet.

_His feet._

_His **foot**!_

I notice it much faster than my parents do. My gasp is loud, and I bring my fingers to my lips. Hiccup's right foot is completely gone. Instead, there is a metal contraption that looks extremely painful, but he seems to walk fine with it.

Hiccups head shoots up. He looks almost as shocked as I do.

_I'm not the one missing a foot._

Everything stands still for a couple of seconds before Hiccup clears his throat and clumsily makes his way off the ship.

_At least some things don't change._


	2. Hiccup and Don'Broch

**Alright so I'm experimenting with something. This story is going to be told through two different POV's (Hiccup and Merida's) Because I'm extremely fond of both characters and would really love to get inside of each one of their heads as this story progresses.**

**This is a super short chapter but I actually really enjoyed writing. Don't worry, things are going to pick up kind of quickly. As always, comments are always appreciated! Thank you and enjoy!**

* * *

As if coming back to Don'Broch wasn't awkward enough, Merida hasn't looked me in the eye since she noticed my foot is now half machine. On the way to the castle, she softly apologized for staring and I told her it was okay.

_Really, it is. I'm used to people staring._

But she looked so petrified I felt guilty. Guilty for searing off my foot and not being able to fix it.

We haven't talked since. And I want to say something but I can't. Now we're all sitting in the dinning hall and I'm right next to her with our parents across the table. They don't really acknowledge us, and I don't really mind. But Merida not making a sound, I do mind.

_Just say something!_

My fork slips from my fingers and clatters on the floor. Merida jumps in her seat and the adults look my way.

"Ah, oops.." I half smile.

_Good one, Hiccup._

I lean down to grab it and bang my head against something hard. My vision goes white for a minute and I quickly sit back up. I place my hand on my forehead and try to rub the throbbing away. My father snorts and smacks the table with his fist. I open one eye and notice my dad, King Fergus, and Queen Eleanore all have smiles spread across their faces. I sigh and turn toward Merida- Who has her own hand on her head too.

_Oh gods, I hit Merida in the head. Smooth, Hiccup. Very smooth._

"Oh Merida I'm so sorry!" I apologize.

Merida grabs my fork off the floor and slides it against my plate. She gives me a half smile and scrunches her nose slightly. Something inside me does a backflip and I feel my face rush with red.

"You dropped this." She teases.

I silently grab the fork and nod.

_Gods Hiccup pull it together. It's just Merida. She's an old friend._

Merida tries to push back a strand of hair, but it just falls across her face again. She turns back to her meal and doesn't notice me stealing glances.

She still has the same wild hair, but it seems longer.

_I like long hair.._

Her nose still has the same button shape to it, but it's now more refined. Makes her look a little older.

_Still covered in freckles.._

Her eyes are still just as blue as I remember them. Big and mesmerizing with a full set of lashes around them. They look just like the ocean.

_I'm looking at the ocean.._

"Hiccup?"

Merida's voice snaps me back into a reality I hadn't realized I left. I was staring right at her. And she was staring right at me.

_Had I been blankly staring at her? _

"You alright?" She asks.

"Uh, yeah," I lie. "Just uh-"

"Because you've been staring at me for the past fifteen minutes.." She interrupts.

_Shit._

I have no words. I don't know what to say. This time I'm fully aware of how red my face must be. I rub the back of neck and open my mouth to speak, even though I know I can't.

"Merida," Queen Eleanore says calmly. "Why don't you show Hiccup where he'll be staying for the night." She doesn't seemed fazed by my embarrassing display. Maybe she hadn't noticed.

_Gods I hope no one else noticed._

My father has a stern look on his face, but it's not towards me. He's quietly mumbling to King Fergus, whose rubbing his eyebrow with his thumb. Things must be getting serious.

"Okay." I hear Merida say.

She slides out of her chair and begins walking toward the massive wooden doors. She stops and looks over her shoulder to see if I'm following. I watch as her eyes fall to the floor and her cheeks gain a slight pink tint.

_I'm staring again._


	3. Merida and the plan

**The creative juices are flowing! So far I'm doing well with writing consistently. Thank you for the comments I've received already! I'm glad you're all excited!**

**Without further ado, he's chapter three. Enjoy!**

* * *

I sit with my knees tucked to my chest by the window and wait for something to happen. Normally I would take Angus out for a run at this hour. He always seems to enjoy running after sunset; When it's still light enough to see where you're going, but late enough to feel like an adventure.

_I just don't feel like it today, and I don't know why._

My head still throbs a bit from where Hiccup and I collided.

_We must have looked like idiots._

I decide the quiet is becoming uncomfortable and head to find my mother. I slip out of my room and walk down the hallway, my shoes scrapping against the stone. I hum an old song softly as I make my way through the maze that is my home. I close my eyes and run my hands against the walls. Every hallway, every staircase, is engraved into my mind. I know exactly how many steps it'll take to reach the next door, and exactly what turn I'll have to take in order to reach the kitchen or the library.

I make my way around the third corner when suddenly-

"Oof!"

"Ack!" I shout as I stumble forward. I sit up and push the hair out of my face. "Sorry!" I begin to apologize as I get the last strands away from my eyes. Suddenly my heart stops and I wish my hair blocking my view again.

"Hey it's not problem," Hiccup says a little shaky. "But, uh, do you think you could get off me?"

I realize I'm sitting directly on his lower abdomen and I roll myself off rather ungracefully.

"Sorry," I say again, trying to keep calm. "I, uh, didn't see you there."

"It's no big deal, I've been hit by worse- Not that you're bad or anything! I'm just saying I've been through a lot more than a girl running into me- Not trying to brag or anything! I, uh- Where's the kitchen?" Hiccup rubs his neck and looks at the ceiling.

"If you keep going straight, just take the first right and keep going until you see a staircase. If you head down it it'll lead you to the main hallway. Then take a left."

"Thanks!" He says as he steps around me and fast walks down the hallway. I look over my shoulder and watch him walk away.

_What is going on with us?_

Just as I'm about to take a step, I hear giggles. I look around but don't see anyone.

"Alright you little brats, where are you?" I say as I cross my arms.

A tile on the ground begins to turn, and suddenly three identical faces are looking up at me. They have the same curly red hair, mischievous blue eyes, and smirks that can make a nanny squirm in her seat.

_Which they do._

"Merida loves Hiccup.." My little brother, Hamish, sings. The other two, Hubert and Harris, giggle and make kissing faces up at me. I roll my eyes and skip right over them.

"Isn't it past your bedtime? I should tell mom." I threaten. Harris suddenly looks uneasy at his other brothers. Out of the three, Harris is the most well behaved. But Hubert and Hamish don't seemed fazed. They continue to sing songs about Hiccup and I kissing in a tree and I keep shouting at them.

A bang echoes through the castle and all four of us become silent.

"What was that?" I whisper.

"I don't know. Maybe dad got angry and knocked something over." Hamish says, his eyes distant.

"Why would he knock something over?"

"Dad and Uncle Stoick are talking in the throne room. Mom said it's "adult stuff" and we shouldn't eavesdrop." Hubert adds.

I look down the hallway and begin walking toward the throne room.

"Hey!" Hamish calls. "Mom said It's _adult_ stuff"

"Well I am an adult." I call behind me as I continue walking.

"You are not!" All three of them cry.

I turn the corner very carefully, then get on my hands and knees and begin to crawl toward the balcony. I settle myself against the wall in the darkness and try to keep as quiet as possible. I don't see anything, but I can hear my father and Stoick. My fathers bear statue is lying face down on the floor. He must have shot it down, which means the atmosphere must still be casual.

_That's a relief._

"So you're saying that yee' all have gone and made friends with the dragons?" My father asks, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Fergus, Hiccup has a way with the beasts. They listen to him." Stoick says softly.

_Hiccup and.. **Dragons**? That can't be right._

My father lets out a hardy laugh.

"Stoick ye' all've gone mad!"

Stoick laughs along with my father. "Aye. It's different, I'll tell ya' that."

"So, you all just live with them? The dragons I mean." My father asks.

"Yes. The kids have grown rather fond of them actually. They've given them names and everything. Hiccup and Toothless are practically inseparable. It was a miracle I could get him here without that dragon following right behind him."

_**What**! This has to be some kind of a joke. Vikings and dragons.. Living **together**?! Hiccup being friends with a- a- a **dragon**!?_

"If everything is so fine over there in Berk. Why the visit, Stoick? Not that I don't enjoy your company." My father pushes the bear statue back to it's feet and I press myself closer against the wall.

"Not everyone is okay with the dragons, Fergus." Stoick says. "This clan from across the sea, The Outcasts, they don't like us becoming allies with the dragons."

"Why not?" My father asks.

"They've hunted the dragons for years; Using them for their meat. Now that we've practically given them all homes, they've got nothing to eat."

"So give them cattle!" My father shouts.

"They won't take it!" Stoick raises from his chair and begins stroking his beard. "You know us vikings, Fergus. We're stubborn! They want the dragons. All of them. They say that if we don't give them the dragons they will-"

"Merida!"

I'm caught off guard and nearly fall down the stairs. I look up and find my mother with her hands on her hips and a disappointed scowl on her face.

_Uh oh.._

Down below, both my father and Stoick are looking up at me. I try to give a casual smile and wave slightly. My mother clears her throat and I push myself onto my feet.

"Sorry mum." I whisper.

"Bed._ Now._"

* * *

As I settle under the covers my mother pokes the logs in the fireplace. She hums the song. Our song.

"Mum," I say sitting myself up.

"Yes?"

"When do Stoick and Hiccup leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Why?"

"Just wondering."

My mother smiles and raises an eyebrow, then leans in and kisses my forehead softly. I watch her shut the door and turn back to the throne room. When I think she's far enough away, I slither out of bed and grab a leather bag from my trunk. I begin grabbing things I think I'll need; Clothes, shoes, an extra pair of arrows.

_I'm getting on that ship tomorrow. If there is an island where vikings and dragons live together, I'm going to see it._


	4. Hiccup and the stowaway

**Well here it is! And in time for Thanksgiving! I hope you all have a lovely dinner with your families or have a great time however you're celebrating. I hope it's wonderful!**

**As always, your comments are appreciated and loved and I can't give you guys enough praise. Really, thank you! I'll shut up now. Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's way too early to be up.." I mumble to myself as I rub my tired eyes. My father stomps his foot twice from above deck, which is a signal for me to start up the engine. I throw coal into a metal box at the end of the ship and close the lid. I turn a couple of valves and pull some levers before i feel the ship haul forward. It's a little invention I made to help improve the speed of the boat. It doesn't require any heaving vikings, which is good for them I guess. It makes a trip to Don'Broch 2 days instead of 4. Above, my father is waving at the King and Queen. Through a porthole window, I notice Merida's missing from the dock. My eyes wander over to the towers of the castle.

_This is the second time I've left without saying goodbye to her.._

A wave of nausea suddenly hits me. I decide that it's best if I get some air and head for the stairs. It's hopeless though, because once I'm on deck I feel even worse. I lean over the side of the ship with my head hung low.

"Ah don't worry son," My father says, patting my back so harshly that I have to grip the railing to keep myself up. "You'll be back home soon. Toothless will be happy to see you. And so will Astrid." He hesitates on that last part. I give him a sideways glance before continuing to look back down at the ocean.

Things have been weird between Astrid and I, and I'm not really sure if I'm coming back to anything other than a fidgety dragon. A year of two ago, I had made quite a mess which involved me, toothless, and a huge dragon that wasn't in the mood for leaving any survivors. After a series of unfortunate events my foot was seared off by some dragon flames. Luckily if Toothless hadn't caught me, there wouldn't be anything left for Gobber to save. Astrid had given me a kiss the next morning, and I thought "Hey, I finally got the girl!"

_But I didn't._

I mean- I don't know. I can't really wrap my head around what we are. She doesn't like it when I talk to other girls, and I'm not really interested in anyone else anyway. But whenever I try to talk to her about, you know, couple things; She gets this weird look on her face. She kisses me occasionally, but it's usually when I do something insanely stupid and live, or after I've done something completely brilliant and made her happy. I still don't get it.

_I don't even know what I'm doing anymore._

Thinking about Astrid just makes my head swell even more, and the ocean isn't helping. All I can see are Merida's big blue eyes looking up at me when she was thirteen years old. I find myself smiling slightly down at the water.

"Hiccup!" My father calls from somewhere below deck. "I need you!"

"Coming, dad!" I croak, take one last look at the water, and head for the stairs- Thankful for the first time that my father doesn't know anything about machines.

_The sooner I stop looking at the ocean, the better._

* * *

I lay on my hammock and watch shooting stars soar across the sky and think of Toothless.

_I hope he hasn't gotten into too much trouble._

The wind picks up and my notebook flies right out of my hands. I sigh loudly as I flip myself off the hammock to go grab it. It's opened to the page I sketched what seemed like ages ago: A Nightfury, with half of it's tail missing. I smile and run my hand across the page. I remember seeing him for the first time; scared and ready to face his death. And again, trying to claw his way out of a cove. I shove the notebook in my back pocket and head for downstairs. It's gotten too cold to stay on the deck, and since I do have a cabin below, I might as well use. it.

_But first, some blankets._

The storage room is fairly large and jammed pack with crates and barrels, so I'm not surprised when I stumble over something and land on my stomach. I groan and swear at myself under my breath. I crawl over to a small table that holds some matches and a small candle. I light the candle and hold it with my right hand. The room is poorly lit, and so i have feel my way through the maze of boxes until I'm at the end of the room. I grab two thick wool blankets and begin heading back to the door, making sure I step over whatever it is i tripped over when I entered.

_Except it's not there anymore.._

I quickly come to a halt and knit my eyebrows together.

"What the heck.." I say to myself as I look down at the ground. The path was completely cleared of obstacles. I look around the room for anything that could have possibly sent me tumbling earlier.

_Maybe I just tripped over myself.._

Something moves slightly in the corner of my eye. I turn cautiously but don't see anything too out of the ordinary. In between two crates there a large blanket bundling something. I suddenly get an uneasy feeling. Slowly, I walk over to the crates, my hand free hand extended out in front of me. My fingertips are almost grazing the fabric.

_It's breathing.._

I suck in all the air I can and grab a fistful of cloth and yank it to the side. Two wild blue eyes look straight at me and I drop the candle. It rolls on the floor before putting itself out. The room is completely dark again. No one says anything for a while.

"Merida?" I ask.

She doesn't say anything. There's a porthole on the right wall, and a little ray of moonlight shines through it, providing some light. I watch Merida's shadow turn away from me.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Shh!" She places one hand on my shoulder and the other across my lips. Even in the dark I can see the icy blue circles glaring at me. "No one can know I'm here."

Merida waits a couple of seconds before letting her hand fall from my mouth. Her fingers graze my lips for just a second and shivers race through my body. She moves around me and shuts the door to the storage room.

"Look," She says letting go of the doorknob slowly. "I want to see Berk. That's all. But I know my father and mother would never let me go. And so, I stowed away."

"Why would you want to see Berk? It's not even half the size of Don'Broch, and not much to look at either-"

"You have dragons." She says, standing only inches away from me. I feel her intensity and it sends another shot of electricity through me.

_Keep it together Hiccup._

"You've seen a dragon before, Merida." I say, still not completely sure why anyone in the history of ever would want to go to Berk for a vacation trip.

"I know. But not the way your father was talking about them." She sits herself down on one of the crates and places her hands on her lap. "I just want to know how vikings went from wanting to destroy all dragon-kind.. To becoming _pet_ owners." Merida's last words spit out of her mouth like they have a sour taste. I think of Toothless, and how he's so much more than just a pet. But before I can say anything, Merida speaks again.

"I know it sounds stupid," She says, not looking me in the eyes "But I just really want to see them again.. I want to see another dragon."

I rub the back of my neck and try to think of a good response, but I know it's pointless. If Merida is anything like she was three years ago, arguing wouldn't get me anywhere. She'd win.

_She's already on the ship, anyway.._

I sigh and place the blankets around Merida's shoulders. Her head snaps up in surprise.

"You can sleep in my cabin tonight. It's more comfortable then the floor." I say.

_Hiccup what are you doing? Just tell your dad she's here and send her back._

Merida rises to her feet and her eyes finally looking in my direction.

_Really think about this, Hiccup. She can't stay at Berk- Think about Astrid!_

"Where will you sleep?" She asks.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." I say grabbing Merida's shoulders and leading her out the door. "But it's getting late. You should get some rest."

She looks at me for a long time. Her lips are slightly open, like they want to say something. She blinks slowly once.

_Gods they're so beautiful.._

I peak my head out the doorway and check to see if the coast is clear. The ship is asleep. Completely silent.

"It's the second door to the left." I whisper into her ear. She nods and mouths "Thank you" as she tiptoes down the hallway. I watch her slip into my cabin and close the door behind her.

_Well good for you, Hiccup. You completely ignored yourself and now you and Merida will get into big trouble. **And**, you let her take your bed. Where do you expect to sleep?_

I groan and knock down the rest of the blankets from the back-shelf and create a makeshift bed. It's too cold to sleep on the hammock, and this really could be worse. The stillness of the storage room quickly makes me drowsy and I begin to dose off. I think about Berk and Hiccup and Astrid and my friends-

_Astrid._

Oh gods, how am I supposed to explain to Astrid that I brought home a girl from another place? No, Merida and I are just friends. She'll understand.

_No she won't, are you crazy? This is Astrid we're talking about! She hates it when you talk to anyone who isn't Fishlegs, Snotlout, or Ruffnut._

I take a long sigh and roll onto my side. They'll be fine. Besides, nothing actually happened between Merida and I.

_Other then, you know, being each others first kiss and all._

And Astrid and I aren't even official.

_Except for all those times she's kissed you and you've displayed obvious, and very embarrassing, signs of affection towards her._

"Alright you can shut up now." I tell myself as I pull the blanket over my head. For the rest of the night I try to distract myself by counting from infinity backward, and around 9,045 i lost count and fell fast asleep.

I was woken up by name being yelled so loudly the entire ship vibrated and rocked on it's side.

_This can't be good._


	5. Merida and the engine box

**Happy Black Friday everyone! Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, or whatever you did to celebrate. **

**Comments are always appreciated. And I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I look away when I hear him coming up the stairs.

_I can't believe I did this._

Stoick is standing in front of me, blocking me on purpose.

"Uh, yes.. Dad?" Hiccup says, trying to sound completely casual. If I weren't so nervous I'd smile.

_He's a terrible liar, still._

"Did you bring anything back from Don'Broch? A souvenir perhaps?" Stoick crosses his arms and I can hear his hide armor flexing along with his muscles.

"Well I picked up a nice looking rock on the way to the castle.. Why? Did they want it back?" Hiccup says.

This time I can't help it. My lip twitches into a slight smile. Even at the worst times, he always manages to lighten the mood. I feel my smile disappear as soon as Stoick begins talking again.

"Really? A rock? You don't mean to tell me that you took an entire princess?!"

Stoick moves aside and now I'm completely exposed. I try to open my mouth to apologize but words fail me. Instead, I just shake my head and hope he can read my eyes.

_He hates me. He hates me. He hates me._

"Dad, I can explain-" Hiccup begins.

"I don't want to hear it. I can't believe you did this!" Stoick motions to me and then begins rubbing his temples.

"Well actually-" I begin to say. Apparently not loud enough because Hiccup interrupts me.

"I didn't kidnap her dad, I swear!"

"Then what is she doing here!?"

"Well ask her!"

"HEY!" I scream as loud as I can.

_This reminds me the time the three lords were expecting my answer to my betrothal._

"It's not Hiccups fault!" I'm still yelling. "It was my idea. I ran away, I got on the ship. Hiccup found me by mistake last night. All he did was offer me his cabin- That's it." I can feel my fists clenching. I'm not afraid of confrontation. Especially if Hiccup is being punished for something he had no control over.

"He had nothing to do with this." I say as softly as I can.

Stoick looks at Hiccup, and then back at me.

"She just wants to see the dragons, dad." Hiccup says, taking his place next to me. I look up at him and feel a bit of relief. Hiccups grown taller, and little more muscular. He's not as big as his father, or any of the other vikings I've seen. But I think he's a good size. Not too big, but not too small.

_Focus, Merida._

I shake myself back and watch Stoick. He stands there for a bit before sighing and shaking his head.

"Alright," He says "She can come to Berk."

"Really!?" I practically squeal with excitement. I lose control of my body and run right into Stoick, giving him the biggest hug I can manage. He lets out a hardy laugh which makes me even happier.

"But!" Stoick clears his throat. "But you're getting on the next boat back young lady, no exceptions!"

_Crap._

"When does it leave?" I ask.

"We'll land at Berk sometime today in the afternoon. I'll have the next ship gone in a day or two."

_No.._

I have one full day to really experience Berk. That can't possible be enough time, can it?

I decide that I'm more thankful than sad and hug Stoick one more time.

"Thank you." I smile.

Stoick pats my shoulder lightly and walks below deck, leaving Hiccup and I alone. I'm still smiling when I turn to him, and he smiles back.

"Well," I say, shrugging my shoulders. "Looks like I'm going to Berk."

"You're lucky you're a girl," Hiccup smirks and walks over to the railing. "My father has a soft spot for girls."

"Yeah.. Lucky me.." I sigh.

_Nothing lucky about being a girl._

Hiccup notices my tone of voice and raises his head. He's about to say something when the ship rocks. I reach for the railing and hang on tight. Hiccup and I both look at each other with eyebrows raised.

"What was that?" I ask

"I think it was the engine." He says as he heads for the stairs. "I'm gonna go check."

Hiccup hobbles down the staircase and leaves me above deck. I stand there awkwardly for a while, not sure what to do. I glance at the opening in the ground leading below deck and twist my lips.

"Wait for me!" I shout after Hiccup, skipping two steps at a time and racing to catch up with him.

* * *

There is smoke everywhere, and I have to cover my nose with my arm and blink the ashes away from my eyes.

"Hello?" I shout. There's mayhem everywhere, and I try to follow the sounds until I reach the engine room. Men are hauling buckets passed me and I hear water slushing against wood.

_Something must have caught fire._

"Hiccup!?" I shout. I push the crowd of men and stumble into the room. I see Hiccup pulling and pushing levers and I race to his side.

"What happened?!" I ask.

Hiccup does a double take when he sees me before shouting. "Merida get out of here, It's not safe!"

I roll my eyes and hit him on the arm.

"I can handle myself, thank you!"

Hiccup sighs and rolls his eyes as well.

"Someone must have overfilled the engine box with coal. It caught fire to quickly and the box exploded. And now," He motions to the chaos around him.

"What can I do to help?" I ask, trying to figure out what all the buttons and levers do. In the background, I hear Stoick shouting orders to his men, and his men shouting orders to other men.

_This is madness._

The fire is out of control, and it's spreading across every surface of the ship.

"Merida, it's too dangerous just-"

"Hiccup!" I yell. "If I don't help you, this whole ship is going to burn to _nothing_! We're going to be _swimming_ the rest of the way to Berk!"

He studies me for a long time before running one of his hands through his hair and sighing.

"We need to close the box. If the box is closed and we can stop the engine at the same time, we should be able to put out the fires and get everything under control."

I scan the room for a box and quickly spot one at the end of the ship.

"Got it!" I say and head toward it.

"Wait, Merida!"

The engine box is completely engulfed in flames. I try to get a look at it without having my eyebrows or hair simmered off.

I_ have to get this fire under control_.

"Water.. Water!" I say to myself. I run toward the men and grab two buckets from them. They shout at me but I don't really care. I head back for the box and toss the water into it. I'm not sure if I was supposed to do that, but it got the flames under control for the most part. They were no bigger than the ones in a fireplace.

_Alright, what's the next step?_

The fire begins to grow again, and faster then it did the first time. I frantically look around for something to keep the fire from spreading.

"The lid!" Hiccup shouts from a few feet away. He's holding on to a lever that keeps bobbing up and down. "It's to your right!"

The ashes are rising and I desperately try to keep my vision clear. I stumble to the lid and grab it from one of it's corners. My scream is so loud that the ship goes silent for a few seconds.

"Merida!?" I can't see Hiccup through the ashes and smoke, but I hear the concern in his voice.

"I'm fine!" I say. My hands are in excruciating pain, but I managed to move the lid a few inches. "I'm going to put the lid on the box. Are you ready?" I ask Hiccup.

He doesn't say anything for a couple of moments, and then he says yes. I take a deep breath and grab the lid again. I groan as I drag the hot metal plate across the floor. I prop it up against the box and blink away the tears.

"Okay," I say as calmly as I can without crying out in pain. "I'm about to put it on the box!"

"On three!" Hiccup shouts.

"One," I say.

"Two!"

_Come on Merida you can do this.._

"Three!"

The lid slams into place and I fall onto my bottom. My breathing is heavy, and I try to tell myself the pain isn't that bad. The ship groans and rocks before the hissing and whistling sounds have stopped. I hear men continuing to shuffle around putting out the flames, and i sit on my knees until the fire is completely gone. The smoke is beginning to clear, and I see Hiccup continuing to fiddle with the buttons. His father is standing next to him, and they both have the same serious look on their faces. I decide it's best if I leave them alone and head somewhere else. I push myself up and bite my lip to keep me from crying out.

_It's not that bad. It's not that bad. it's not that bad._

As I turn the corner to leave the room I hear Hiccups voice. He doesn't say much, but it's enough to remind me that my bunt hands _do_ hurt and that this was a crazy idea because what am I going to do when I get to Berk and see a dragon? My mother and father must be worried sick and I pulled another selfish act.

"Merida?"


	6. Hiccup and the stories

**Ack! Sorry for the delay! Things got hectic coming back from my break. And the thing is, I had this chapter completely ready! I thought I had uploaded it but when I logged in to make revisions, it wasn't there. So I apologize. **

**Well, here it is. The next chapter. Uh, yeah! Hope you enjoy. Thank you all for the supportive comments! I really appreciate them! And to the person who shall remained unnamed who sent me the hate message about my terrible writing. **

**I _know_.**

* * *

She's sitting on a barrel at the end of the ship with her hands in her lap and her head hung low. I watch as her fingers wander over to the edge of her dress and. She clutches a bit of material in her hand and sighs.

_Merida, don't._

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before ripping off a long piece of cloth.

"So I see you still have a bad habit of ripping apart your clothes." I tease. She seems a little startled to see me, but tries to smile. The color has drained from her cheeks, and her eyes look tired. They seem faded and grey; no more bright blue sky. She looks sick.

_This isn't right._

I look down at the cloth and notice her hands are raw and bright red. My heart stops for a couple of seconds and I look at Merida.

"It's nothing!" She says immediately, moving her hands behind her back.

"Your hands are completely burnt!" I object, trying to grab them.

She stands up and moves away from me.

"I've burnt myself before, Hiccup. Honestly it's no big deal- I'm fine!"

"Oh really? Than prove it."

"And how do you expect me to do that?" She laughs.

I think about it for a couple of seconds before giving her a devilish smile.

_Hiccup you are a cruel man._

"Give me a high five." I say.

Her smiles drops and she bites her bottom lip. I can tell she doesn't want to do it.

"If you're fine, than you should have no problem giving me a nice, hard, high five." I extended my hand out in front of me and spread my fingers apart. Maybe this is evil, and maybe I shouldn't be doing this. But I can't help myself, it's too much fun.

_And besides, she won't do it._

Suddenly, Merida strides towards me and slaps me across the face harder than I've ever been slapped before. My cheek burns and I'm sure she left a nice handprint. I press my hand against my face and look over at Merida, who is holding onto her wrist and cursing very loudly. She's jumping up and down and I know that she's probably in just as much pain as I am, maybe more. I start to laugh.

"Holy crap, Merida. Was that necessary? _Seriously_?"

"I told you I was fine!" She hisses with her back facing me, still jumping up and down.

_This is one tough chick._

Typically, I don't think I would have found this funny. But just the fact that Merida would put herself in more pain than necessary to prove a point was funny. I don't think I know any girl who would go to that extreme. And, okay, watching Merida bob around the deck like a mad women is pretty entertaining.

_She probably didn't expect it to hurt that badly._

"Alright, alright. So I guess you won't be needing any aloe plant, right? Since you're okay and all." I coax.

She turns around and scrunches her nose. I watch her look up at the sky and tap her foot impatiently. I'm not really sure if it was a way to cope with the pain, or if she was contemplating whether or not to take the aloe.

"Well," She finally says "I wouldn't mind a little aloe- But only because you offered and it makes your hands soft!"

I roll my eyes teasingly and mouthed "okay"

"It's true!" She cries. "My hands are completely okay, they're just a little dry. Do I need to slap you one more time to prove my point?"

"No, I'm okay." I smile and head for the aloe plants below deck in the storage room.

* * *

"Ack.."

"I thought you said you were okay."

"I am. It just hurt a little."

I finish wrapping Merida's left hand with the bandages and she sighs in relief. Both her hands and wrapped up and she places them lightly on her knees with her palms up. We're sitting on the deck floor against one of the masts as the sky turns from blue to orange. Due to the little engine room incident, we had to go back to use manual labor to power the ship. We're short on crewmen, so it's taking us longer to row to Berk than it normally would. We'd make it there by nightfall.

"I still can't believe you did that." I say, biting into an apple.

"Well I wasn't about to let the ship sink." She says, grabbing her own apple from the basket with the tips of her fingers. I watch her try to bite into it while holding it gently. Her fingertips were the only place that hadn't been severely burned. She manages to take a small bite before the apple tumbles out of her hand and rolls away.

"Ugh." She groans and lets her head hit the mast post. Something in her expression changes but before I can ask, Merida looks over at me and twists her lips.

"If I can't eat an apple, how am I supposed to shoot a bow and arrow? Or do anything for that matter."

_It's like she read my mind._

"You'll be okay. When we get to Berk, I can take you to the medicine lady. She's great with burns." I hold out my apple for Merida, she raises and eyebrow before shrugging slightly and biting into it. Her cheeks have a reddish tint to them and she doesn't look at me when she chews.

_Good, because I'm blushing too._

I silently shut the voice in my head up and take another bite.

"You guys get burned often in Berk?" She asks, wiping her mouth with her sleeve.

"Yeah. We get into a lot of, uh, accidents with the dragons. We've gotten pretty good at treating burns."

"What's the worst you've gotten?" She asks.

_Out of all the times I've been around dragons, what has been the worst?_

I think about it for a couple of minutes before motioning to my missing foot. She's silent for a while as she studies it.

"What happened?" She whispers.

And so I tell her everything. About what life was like on the island a couple of years ago and basically how I created a mess, tried to clean it up, lost my foot, and changed the way vikings lived all in a matter of a couple weeks. Merida's eyes never left mine the entire time I was telling the story. She seemed so interested, so invested with what I had to say. I watched her eyes widen when I'd almost die, and her lips turn into a smile when I talked about Toothless. Suddenly I was talking nonsense and just staring at her.

"She's adorable." I say. Quickly regretting it because that was supposed to be in my head and not out loud.

"Who is?" Merida says completely confused. She looks around the ship but doesn't see anyone.

_Quick! Think of a girl! The first girl that pops into your head that isn't Merida!_

"Uh, I- Astrid!"

_Shit, not **her**!_

Merida looks back at me very slowly before lowering her head.

"Oh." Is all she says.

I had mentioned Astrid during my story, and how much I had a crush on her, so now Merida probably gets the wrong idea. I don't know why that bothered me so much, considering I'm not dating either of the two really. I don't want Merida to think I like someone else, but I don't know what to do about Astrid. I try to erase everything that just happened and lighten the mood by asking her a question.

"Uh, what about you? What's the worse thing you've ever done?"

She smiles slightly and laughs to herself.

"I think it might be the time I turned my mother into a bear."

"What?!"

"I turned my mother into a bear. Well, technically a witches' spell did, but I was the one who asked for it."

"You turned your mom into a bear. The queen.. Into a bear!?" I laugh.

_This girl is nuts!_

Merida scrunches her nose and suddenly burst into laughter. We both joke about it for a while until our giggles die down and the sky is completely dark. She tells me her own story and now It's my turn to be interested. Merida is so honest. She tells me every detail and confesses to every mistake she ever made. But the thing I idolized the most was that she always had a justification for it. She just felt like she needed to rebel, she was tired of having no control over her own life. Which I could completely understood.

"I mean, I'm still not a perfect person. But I'm trying.." She sighs. "It's just hard when everything I do always just.."

"Turns into a mess?"

"Yeah. A complete mess." She looks down at her hands and blows the curly strand away from her face.

"At least you don't have to marry any of the lords' sons anymore. They sounded like idiots."

She laughs and I get a small feeling of satisfaction inside me.

"The thing is.. I still have to choose a husband."

"But I thought-"

"I can marry whoever I want.. But I need to decide." She twirls her hand around her finger and I can tell this is a subject she normally skirts around.

"How soon?" The questions escapes my mouth before I can object to it in my head.

"I'm turning eighteen soon, and my mother is getting older.. She expects me to be on the throne by 20 with a husband."

I'm eighteen and still without a steady girlfriend. My father hasn't even talked to me about finding someone who will take the title of clan leader with me.

_He probably thinks you're not ready yet._

The atmosphere turns awkward quickly, and neither of us had anything left to say to save it.

"Berk! Dead ahead!" A crew member calls. I help Merida to her feet and we race toward the front of the ship. Sure enough, clearing through the mist, was Berk. My home resting on giant pieces of rock that literally could break at any moment.

_Charming._

I feel a little embarrassed about where I live compared to Don'Broch. But when I look over at Merida her mouth is wide open in awe.

_It's pretty dark. Maybe she can't tell how ugly it actually is.._

Everyone in the village seems to be asleep when we dock, so we try to be as quiet as we can. My father tells me to go show Merida where she'll be saying, and so I lead her to the small guest home near ours, giving a brief tour along the way. Merida asks about the dragons, and I tell her they must be asleep too.

"Where's Toothless?" She whispers.

"I don't know.. He should be here.." I look to the sky for my dragon, a little concerned that he hasn't turned up anywhere.

_Maybe he's also asleep.._

* * *

"Well this is where you'll be staying."

Merida stands in front of the door and smiles slightly. I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to say goodnight to her, if I'm even supposed to say goodnight at all.

"Thank you." She says.

Another couple moments of silence..

"Well, see you tomorrow." She finally says, grabbing onto the doorknob. She flinches, but turns to knob anyway.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." I say hobbling down the steps.

The door closes slowly behind her and I take a deep breath

_Tomorrow.. Tomorrow will be interesting._


End file.
